Netflix Acquires Oxenfree Dev As Its First Game Studio

Streaming giant Netflix has acquired Night School Studio, a developer founded by former Telltale Games employees that released Oxenfree, an intriguing supernatural mystery game, and Afterparty, a barhopping comedy journey through Hell. Though now a Netflix subsidiary, Night School Studio confirmed that Oxenfree 2‘s development is still underway.

In a press release, Night School Studio co-founder Sean Krankel said the pairing between the two was “natural,” mentioning that Netflix’s mission to “support diverse storytellers” lead to both parties joining forces together.

“Night School wants to stretch our narrative and design aspirations across distinctive, original games with heart,” Krankel said. “Netflix gives film, TV, and now game makers an unprecedented canvas to create and deliver excellent entertainment to millions of people. Our explorations in narrative gameplay and Netflix’s track record of supporting diverse storytellers was such a natural pairing. It felt like both teams came to this conclusion instinctively.”

As such, Night School Studio is now officially the first game developer under Netflix’s wing. It’s been widely known that Netflix has wanted to jump into game development, partnering with several developers — including Telltale Games on a since-cancelled Stranger Things adventure game — to release projects tied to its licensed IP. But the streaming giant has never owned a developer until now, and it’s unclear what work Night School will undertake as a subsidiary.

Krankel confirmed Night School will continue working on Oxenfree 2, which is due out next year on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation consoles, and PC. Krankel also said the team will “keep cooking up new game worlds” and that Netflix has “shown the utmost care for protecting our studio culture and creative vision.”

Read More: Oxenfree, The Kotaku Review

News of this acquisition comes not long after the streaming giant hosted a fan event called TUDUM (yes, that’s the Netflix start sound onomatopoeia). It was a three-hour-long showcase full of reveals, like the intro to the live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop (which is really good, unless you ask my editor, whom I suspect is dead inside) and confirmation that The Witcher will return for a third season alongside a spin-off for kids.